Phil Mickelson made it clear on Saturday he wouldn’t take any charge of “cheating” lying down, but didn’t say just what action he might take after being “publicly slandered.”
The world No. 2, speaking after his third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, didn’t mention Scott McCarron by name.
But he bridled when asked about McCarron’s comments, reported in the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, in which McCarron criticized Mickelson’s exploitation of a loophole in a new rule governing clubface grooves to use an old Ping-Eye 2 wedge with square grooves.
PHOTO: AFP
“It’s cheating, and I’m appalled Phil has put it in play,” McCarron told the newspaper.
The US Golf Association implemented a new rule this year demanding V-shaped grooves, but the Ping wedges that were made before April 1, 1990, have been grandfathered in as approved for play thanks to a Ping lawsuit that was settled two decades ago.
Mickelson is using one of those wedges at Torrey Pines this week after reading about John Daly and Dean Wilson using them at tournaments in Hawaii.
PHOTO: REUTERS
On Friday, Mickelson’s reaction was fairly subdued, indicating that McCarron’s comments were a reflection that he disagreed with the new rule — as Mickelson does.
He was more combative on Saturday.
“I thought it might be a topic of discussion,” Mickelson said of his decision to use the club. “I didn’t expect to be publicly slandered. Because of that, I’ve got to let others handle it now.”
Asked if that meant he was considering a lawsuit, he replied: “I’m not going into specifics what that meant.”
The PGA Tour weighed in with a statement confirming the Ping-Eye 2 wedges with square grooves are approved for play, even though they don’t conform to the new rule. The V-shaped grooves offer less spin, especially out of the rough, and are meant to put a greater premium on accuracy.
“Public comments or criticisms characterizing their use as a violation ... are inappropriate at best,” the statement said.
McCarron, and some other players, say the use of the Ping-Eye 2 violates the spirit of the rule, even though the loophole does allow it.
Mickelson said players shouldn’t be placed in the position of interpreting rules.
“I understand black and white,” Mickelson said on Friday. “And I think that myself or any other player is allowed to play those clubs because they’re approved - end of story.”
Japan’s Ryuji Imada pulled two shots clear after the third round of the San Diego Open on Saturday as some of the biggest names in the field moved into contention for a last-day push.
After sharing the overnight lead with little-known American DA Points, Imada fired a two-under-par 70 on another glorious day of sunshine at picturesque Torrey Pines to open a little daylight between himself and the chasing pack.
Although the coastal breezes strengthened in the afternoon, the 33-year-old played bogey-free golf on the back nine to post a 13-under total of 203, ending his round in style with a 34-foot birdie putt.
Australian Michael Sim birdied two of the last three holes for a 70 and a tie for second place with American Ben Crane (69) at 11 under, a stroke in front of reigning US Open champion Lucas Glover (68).
Left-hander Mickelson shrugged off a double-bogey at the par-four seventh to card a 70 and end the round in a six-way tie for fifth, just four shots off the lead.
■QATAR MASTERS
REUTERS, DOHA
Paul Casey fired a sublime 66 to grab a share of the lead with fellow Briton Bradley Dredge in the third round of the Qatar Masters on Saturday.
Casey, five shots off the pace on Friday, carded seven birdies and a bogey to finish the round on 10-under-par 206.
Dredge survived a double bogey on the fifth by hitting five birdies to score 70 as he and Casey opened up a one shot lead going into yesterday’s final round.
England’s Lee Westwood was forced to change his driver mid-round after it cracked but kept his focus to card a 70. He lies third on nine under par.
Sweden’s Robert Karlsson (70) and overnight leader Australia’s Brett Rumford (73) were a further shot adrift.
Casey was especially delighted with his round of 66 as he had missed the Doha cut in all three of his previous appearances: “This is my best round around this golf course in four years of trying, so I can’t say a bad thing about it.”
■NEW ZEALAND OPEN
AFP, WELLINGTON
American Robert Gates recovered from a late meltdown to claim the New Zealand Open golf championship by one stroke from Australian Andrew Dodt at The Hills course in Queenstown yesterday.
Gates held a six-stroke lead after seven holes on the final round but fell back to be square with Dodt and needed a three-foot putt for par on the 18th to avoid a play-off.
He finished with a closing round two-over-par 74 to be 14-under 274 for the championship, one shot clear of Dodt, who carded 72 on the final day, and two ahead of fellow American Jamie Lovemark.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB